This page provides instructions that can help providers determine staffing hours for integrated community supports.

Service planning basics

The provider recommends the initial service level needed based on information from the person's support plan and other relevant documents.

The lead agency reviews the provider's recommendation. If the lead agency agrees with the information provided, the lead agency enters it into the RMS to calculate a rate. If the lead agency does not agree, it continues to work with the provider to reach an agreement on an appropriate individual service plan.

For more information on service planning, see RMS User Manual – Service planning and authorization.

Shared staffing hours basics

There is not an RMS input field for shared staffing hours for integrated community supports. The integrated community supports framework has a base shared staffing value of 8 hours.

The 8-hour base shared staffing value is set in Minn. Stat. §256B.4914, subd. 6(e)(1) and cannot be adjusted. It is for the general oversight of the service. Integrated community supports is designed to meet the individual needs of a person, not a setting. A person cannot get a DWRS rate exception for the base shared staffing hours because these hours cannot be changed.

The RMS automatically calculates a person’s portion of the base shared staffing hours based on the information entered into the “number of residents (DHS-approved number of provider-controlled units)” input field. To confirm the number of provider-controlled units that have been approved by DHS, see the location-specific provider page on MinnesotaHelp.info.

Individual staffing hours basics

There are two RMS input fields for individual staffing hours for integrated community supports:

· Individual average in-person staffing hours per day

· Individual average remote staffing hours per day.

For descriptions of all of the RMS input fields for ingrated community supports, see RMS User Manual – Residential fields for integrated community supports.

Information you need to determine individual staffing hours

To determine the number of individual staffing hours a person needs, the provider will need the following:

· In-person staffing hours required to meet the person’s needs

· Remote staffing hours required to meet the person’s needs

· A specific, recent time period as a base for calculating average daily staffing hours

· The types of activities and associated direct-care staffing requirements for the person

· All of the above data to determine the average daily staffing hours for the specific person receiving disability waiver services.

For people new to receiving integrated community supports, the provider should use projected staffing hours based on the person’s assessed needs.

What to leave out

When calculating average staffing hours, do not include the following items because they are included in another part of the framework:

· Shared staffing hours

· Non-direct care staff (e.g., drivers, program directors, cooks)

· Paid vacation, sick leave, training time, on-call hours, holidays, etc.

How to calculate average individual staffing hours

DHS created worksheets to help providers determine the average individual staffing hours for a person who receives integrated community supports.

Tips

· Consider the time period (i.e., how many weeks) you will use as a basis for determining the person’s average daily staffing hours.

· If a person’s schedule does not vary much from week to week, you may not need to use many weeks of data to calculate average daily staffing hours.

· If a person’s schedule varies significantly from week to week, you may want to use more weeks of data to calculate average daily staffing hours.

· For descriptions of all of the RMS input fields for integrated community supports, see RMS User Manual – Residential fields for integrated community supports.

Rules to follow

· Decide how many weeks you will use as a basis for averaging.

· Use the most recent, consecutive time period from one to 52 weeks.

· Use actual hours provided to the person who receives disability waiver services.

· Do not use staff work schedules or payroll records.

How to complete the worksheet

To complete the individual staffing hours portion of RMS Worksheet – Integrated community supports, DHS-6790O (PDF), the provider should:

1. Determine the person's individual average in-person staffing hours per day and individual average remote staffing hours per day. For descriptions of these RMS input fields, see RMS User Manual – Residential fields for integrated community supports.

If the provider does not know the person’s individual average in-person staffing hours per day or individual average remote staffing hours per day, the provider should use Integrated Community Supports Individual Staffing Hours Worksheet, DHS-6910O (PDF) to record the number of staffing hours a person needs each day during an average week. The worksheet will calculate the person’s average daily staffing hours based on the values entered into the Monday through Sunday input fields.

2. Populate the DHS-6790O worksheet with the individual average in-person staffing hours per day and individual average remote staffing hours per day determined in step 1.

3. Send the completed DHS-6790O worksheet to the lead agency.